IS IT TRUE March 27, 2013
IS IT TRUE the Evansville Museum should be high fiving and rethinking their strategy with regard to the forgotten Picasso they found in a box last year?…it was just revealed that Steven Cohen, the billionaire behind SAC Capital who just paid over $600 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over alleged insider trading purchased a famous Picasso painting?… the price tag on the masterpiece was a whopping $155 million?…in 2006 Casino mogul Steve Wynn, originally paid $48 million for the famed painting, not only sold the Picasso to Cohen but he made a hefty profit along the way?…that somehow this piece of art by Picasso managed to appreciate by 223% in only 7 years most of which was during the second worst depression in over a century?…with the customary buyers premium of 10% this Picasso called “Le Reve†set Mr. Cohen back by a total of just over $170 Million?…when compared to the $48 Million price paid by Wynn in 2006 the profit from enjoying this art for 7 years alone is about the same amount of money that the City of Evansville borrowed to build the Ford Center?…the $170 Million for one painting is enough to pay cash not only for the Ford Center but for a convention hotel as well?…that the first thing we hope is that the Evansville Museum after 50 year of oblivion has the Evansville Picasso under secure lock and key in an atmosphere that will maintain its value?…the next thing is that it is time for the Museum to rethink its naïve strategy of selling the Picasso off and hire some professionals to send the Evansville Picasso on tour at a fabulous annual rental?…selling off an appreciating asset like the “found Picasso†while pursuing a government ambition to build depreciating assets until the City of Evansville is broke is just insane?…the Evansville Picasso if managed correctly could bring more money to Evansville than all of the temples to fun and games combined?
IS IT TRUE that the last 5 out of 8 Evansville Firefighters hired were not official residents of Evansville or even the greater Evansville region?…we wonder if this is a wise hiring policy?…while it is disappointing to see local people not hired into these positions we do recognize the possibility that no local applicants met the qualifications?…we wonder how so many applications from far away were even submitted?
IS IT TRUE the Indianapolis Star reports that on a mid-February Tuesday, Indiana state legislators streamed into the Downtown Hyatt Regency to an invitation-only party hosted by the state’s banking industry. One of the first lawmakers to arrive also was among the most important: Sen. Travis Holdman, chairman of the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions?…in addition to working for the banking industry outside of the Statehouse, Holdman helps it within the General Assembly?… a few weeks ago, he signed on as chief Senate sponsor of legislation that would lower taxes on banks in Indiana by $18.8 million a year when fully implemented?… conflicts of interest are as routine in the General Assembly as partisan spats, and the atmosphere of coziness between lawmakers and special interests is both deeply entrenched and widely accepted?… some call conflicts of interest business as usual, but the heavy influence exerted by well-connected lobbyists and industries makes it nearly impossible for average citizens, or those with fewer connections and less clout, to compete for attention when the laws that shape Indiana are written?…he CCO wonders if this atmosphere of graft makes any of our local state representatives or senators feel like the house band in a bordello?
Saw Rumplebeancounter this morning. Looks like he was up late cooking the books again. Big Dan makes me nervous. Whenever I see him I fear that the local restaurants will run out of food. This Mayor should be ashamed of himself. How in the world would you allow for a newly created position for someone who ruins everything that she touches? She isn’t qualified to be the CFO of her personal checkbook. Then she gets her pay bumped from 60K to 81K so she won’t blow the whistle on the previous mayor
Winneke= Derp
Wealth gap at an all time high and growing and big banks getting another break. Where’s that socialism I keep hearing about?
You’re right. Socialism in theory is quite different than socialism in practice. In theory, socialism is state-owned means of production and distribution of resources based on need. True socialism wouldn’t have a welfare state this big… Most of the people sapping off the welfare system wouldn’t be allowed in a true socialist regime. Those people would be in the mines working for a meal voucher. Even the Soviets didn’t live under real socialism.
In practice, socialism looks a lot like what we actually have – a pyramidal structure of crony capitalism or, if you prefer, corporatocracy. The state uses its power to protect sanctioned corporations and limit the ability of others to compete on a level playing field. The politicians get rewarded for their efforts through campaign contributions and special favors.
We’ve never had true laissez-faire capitalism in this country any more than the Soviets ever had true socialism. The truth is, we all live then and now under a global imperialist kleptocracy run by corrupt bankers and industrialists.
The Picasso appreciating by over 200% in 7 years is more of a hedge play against inflation by the billionaire than a real increase in actual value.
Where else can a billionaire put his massive fortune if not in historically significant pieces of art he can both enjoy and use as a storehouse of wealth? It’s certainly not in banks. The Cypriot crisis has sent a signal to billionaires…I’m sure they are listening.
I disagree with the strategy of sending the Picasso on tour right away. They Museum should pony up and give this piece the home it deserves in the Museum and let local people at least look at it. They should properly market the unveiling and invite new people into the Museum. They should use this as a centerpiece for a new fundraising strategy. They could invite tourism to Evansville for a change. THEN, after exploiting these angles, in a year or two, they could rent the piece out on tour. The unveiling of a lost Picasso is worth a fortune in free advertising alone.
Has anybody put a value on the museum’s painting? If this painting is worth over 100 mil than I say sell it. If it’s worth less then keep it and charge those who view it enormous admission costs that they always pay to see these type of things.
Trouble is: If our so-called City leaders got hold of One Hundred Million dollars from the sale of the Picasso, they would use it to leverage colossal debt, then run the money forth and back through their sticky fingers until it disappeared. …
Yes they would. Actually those morons would probably bond the future rentals and appreciated value of the Picasso so they could piss away another hundred million bucks right now. The last 10 years of Evansville governance have taken stupid to an artistic level.
The Picasso is owned by the museum not the city (obviously). Therefore any funds generated off it will not be going to the city either way. And yes that is probably a good thing.
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